'Snowquester' doesn't pan out in DC; situation nastier in Virginia

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Photos:Photos: 'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast

'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast – People walk as snow falls at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Wednesday, March 6. A winter storm that set snowfall records in Chicago arrived in the capital region early Wednesday, shutting down federal offices and schools. It's been dubbed "snowquester," a play on the recent forced spending cuts in government.

'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast – A llama sits atop an abandoned school bus at Cox Farms in Centreville, Virginia on March 6.

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Photos:Photos: 'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast

'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast – Hunter Gallagher uses a shovel to write a letter in his girlfriend's name in the snow on the football field at Catholic University on March 6 in Washington.

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Photos:Photos: 'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast

'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast – A man walks on 17th Street as snow and rain begin to fall on March 6 in Washington.

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Photos:Photos: 'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast

'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast – U.S. Capitol Police officer Alex Rys' hat is dusted with snow as he patrols on Capitol Hill on March 6.

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Photos:Photos: 'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast

'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast – A man walks in front of the White House as snow and rain hit the Washington area on March 6.

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Photos:Photos: 'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast

'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast – Workers use shovels and brooms to remove a heavy mixture of snow and ice from the west front of the U.S. Supreme Court on March 6.

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Photos:Photos: 'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast

'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast – A tourist takes cover under an umbrella while snapping photos of the U.S. Capitol on March 6, in Washington.

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Photos:Photos: 'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast

'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast – Motorists make their way on Interstate 35W into downtown Minneapolis on Tuesday, March 5.

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Photos:Photos: 'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast

'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast – Chicago had its first snowfall of 6 inches or more since February 2011, leaving the Cloud Gate sculpture, commonly known as "The Bean," covered in the white stuff on March 5.

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Photos:Photos: 'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast

'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast – Brett Jordan makes nearly a 2-mile trek home from the bus stop in Chicago on March 5.

'Snowquester' hits D.C., Northeast – Jennifer Mosby crosses the Adams Street Bridge over the Chicago River on March 5 in the Windy City.

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Story highlights

Shelters are open for 215,000 without power in Virginia

A coastal flood warning is in effect for Massachusetts

Virginia's governor declares a state of emergency

They'd hoped to trade political potshots for wet snowballs.

Instead, the storm billed as "Snowquester" is turning out to be nothing more than a big wet blanket for members of the Washington D.C. Snowball Fight Association. The group had planned a big showdown in DuPont Circle, where a few years ago 3,000 people turned out for a humdinger of a fight.

But where 5 to 10 inches of wet snow was supposed to fall on DuPont Circle, not even slush was accumulating Wednesday afternoon, said organizer Michael Lipin.

"Quite a letdown," he said.

While the storm was dumping plenty of snow in other places, Washington was getting just fractions of an inch, said CNN meteorologist Sean Morris.

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In fact, the National Weather Service dropped its winter storm warning for the Washington area Wednesday afternoon.

"It's just not panning out to be the storm we'd thought it would be," Morris said.

In nearby Virginia, however, things were quite different.

Gov. Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergency, state police extended shifts and the National Guard called up 100 troops for snow duty as inches of wet, heavy snow fell across parts of the state.

Authorities opened shelters for the 215,000 Virginians without power, according to the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

Transportation officials reported particularly nasty conditions on many secondary and some primary routes in 15 central and northern counties, with deep snow or ice covering the pavement. State and many county offices closed early.

About 4,200 utility workers were in the field trying to deal with outages, Rodney Blevins of Dominion Power said during a news conference.

Airlines canceled more than 1,600 flights, leaving passengers such as Alex Thompson, who had hoped to take a flight to San Francisco, with plenty of time on their hands.

Thompson traveled all the way from Kenya only to find that his next flight was one of hundreds called off until Thursday because of the storm.

With no hotel reservations and nowhere else to go, he said he'd find a place to sack out atDulles International Airport and "waste my time until I can get on my flight."

Capital closings

The dire forecast issued Tuesday prompted the federal government to close offices in the nation's capital, but emergency workers and telecommuters were expected to be on duty, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

The White House canceled a planned celebration for the Alabama Crimson Tide, college football champions, and Congress called off several hearings.

More than 954,000 students who attend major school districts in Washington, Virginia, Maryland and Ohio got the day off.

Amtrak shut down some trains in Washington, Virginia, West Virginia and New York.

A flood warning was in effect through Friday morning for the eastern coast of Massachusetts based on a "high confidence" for high winds, storm surge, and moderate to major coastal flooding, the state's emergency management agency said.

About 300 National Guard troops will be used along the Massachusetts coast to help with flooding and possible evacuations, agency spokesman Peter Judge said.

Fifty Delaware National Guard troops were called up as emergency management officials urged some coastal residents in that state to evacuate, saying flooding would cut off exit routes. The agency warned of almost certain flooding in areas and said "conditions during the height of the storm could make the process of leaving flooded areas dangerous or impossible."

High winds forced the brief closure of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge in both directions, Maryland authorities said, but not before a tractor trailer overturned on one end, CNN affiliate WJZ reported.

Wind was believed to have been a major factor in the accident.

Power was out across the Delmarva Peninsula, which includes parts of Maryland, Virginia and Delaware, Delmarva Power reported.

The storm is the same one that earlier dumped about a foot of snow in parts of Illinois, Minnesota and North Dakota, paving a white swath across the Upper Midwest.

Chicago's O'Hare International Airport had 6 inches of snow Tuesday, beating a 1999 record for the date by 2.2 inches. It was the first snowfall of 6 inches or more in the Windy City since February 2011, the weather service said.

Plows removed snow from roads and trucks spread salt and sand, but drivers still slipped off of roadways, leaving snow-covered cars to be retrieved by tow trucks.

Tuesday's snow put a drag on air traffic in the Midwest, leading to delays and cancellations, but planes continued to fly in Columbus, Ohio, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, after plows removed the snow from runways.